You and Me, Time and Space, You Watch us Run
by BlueHippo317
Summary: Once upon a time, a certain man in a bow-tie and a flirty archaeologist got married, and extreme fluff ensued. A series of one-shots between 11 and River.
1. A Reunion

**I don't own Doctor Who, and if I did you'd know because I would brag about it to everyone. (Just saying) I hope you enjoy my story, and if not, sorry for wasting your time. Please tell me how to improve, or, you know, tell me how good it is (wink, wink) in the reviews. Now on to the story.**

It had been one week. One week of torture.

Although she knew that the Doctor was safe and alive, (Well he was never really safe, was he?) and she had not done anything wrong to him, River couldn't help but wonder what was taking him so long. She was, in all honesty, a complete and utter mess. She just sat and thought, and thinking led to worrying, and worrying led to, well, more worrying. Why hadn't he come yet?

They had their doctors here at the Stormcage doing tests on her, trying to figure her out- the woman who killed the doctor- but obviously they turned up inconclusive. And River knew there was only one Doctor who could help her. She had taken to sleeping a lot, and with the never ending rain in this prison, it wasn't hard to do. One night, though, she couldn't sleep. It must've been because of the nightmares. Nightmares that the Doctor would never come to save her. She was just about to get up and pace the floor when she heard brisk footsteps coming down the hallway. She froze in her bed and breathed like she was asleep. A person was fumbling with the lock on her door. Then, with a soft curse, the keys clattered to the ground. This certainly wasn't normal guard behavior. Her heart raced. Could it be?

And then a red bow tie blocked her field of vision. It was him. He was really here! She stayed still. "Oh, my poor River." He muttered, and the sound of his voice was like an angel's. Gently he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stroked the side of her face. She couldn't stand it any longer. She opened one eye, grinned and said, "Hello, sweetie." A full-fledged grin broke out on his face. "Hello, River."


	2. A Wedding

"Where are you taking me, exactly?" River asked as she stepped into the familiar TARDIS. The Doctor tapped her nose, laughed, and then ran to the console. "No spoilers, as you might say, River Song. But you are in for a treat!" River rolled her eyes and trailed after the Doctor, having to re-do almost everything he did so they didn't crash on Mars in 1756. The Doctor caught her and pouted. "If you want to fly her than fine." He said, crossing his arms and looking so like a child. "Oh, no, the very thought of it!" River exclaimed, grinning. "I missed you, Doctor." She said as he ran past her. He stopped and looked at her, frowning slightly. "What do you mean? I came and got you as fast as I could! It was only a day in prison." He said. "No, sweetie, it was a week." River said. "Aw! I was gonna get everything right!" he cried, throwing his hand sup in the air. "It's not a problem." River assured him but he seemed content to pout.

After a moment of silence the TARDIS landed. "Come on, cheer up or I won't enjoy wherever you brought me." River threatened. But he was already out of his funk. He smiled and stepped in front of her. Then, with a grand flourish, he thrust open the doors and revealed the fields of Gandj- said to be the most beautiful place in the universe. River gasped and slowly stepped out, overcome by the beauty. They were surrounded by fields of tall, thin grass of all different colors. The trees were short and stout but had leaves of gold and silver. Everything seemed to shine and twinkle in the light of the four moons set in the deep blue sky. "It's beautiful." River breathed as something flew past them- a flying cat of some sort. The Doctor grabbed her hand and started running through the grass which left a tingling sensation on their skin.

He finally stopped under a tree that was on the shore of a river that was flowing with the clearest, cleanest water River had ever seen. The collapsed in the soft grass, both of them out of breath. After a while of comfortable silence, River sat up. "It's beautiful, truly- but why did you bring me here?" The Doctor bit his lip. Finally he sat up too. "Well, you know, we never properly got married. I thought you might want…some sort of representation." He let go of River's hand that he was still holding and pulled something out of his pocket. He revealed a silver ring. A red/orange stone was held in the iron grasp of silver spirals. It was the most beautiful ring River had ever seen. "It's a replica of a Gallifreyan stone." He said, sliding it on her finger. "It's amazing." She said, grinning. The Doctor stood up and pulled River to her feet. "And one more thing." He whispered. Then he leaned down and whispered something in her ear.

It was the strangest, most beautiful, most terrifying thing she had ever heard. Then it was like the universe and everything it in was singing around them, and spinning and they were alone, the only two beings alive caught in a spiraling tumble of everything. It was his name- she was sure. The name described everything he did, everything he knew, everything he was. Hearing it, it was obvious. Of course that's what his name was. It was fire and ice and rage. It was angry and sad and lonely and oh so happy. The name was _him._


	3. Selfish

He knew he was being selfish. Sitting in his TARDIS, drifting through empty space, waiting for when he could go get his River. There were things that he should've been doing. But in that moment, they weren't things that he _wanted_ to be doing. He just wanted to have someone with him so he wouldn't be lonely, specifically, River.

When the time came, he didn't waste a second, which was saying something. He piloted the TARDIS to the stormcage in nearly no time at all, literally. He opened the doors widely and stared at her, waiting for him with a sly grin on her face, the moonlight highlighting her face. She strutted inside and he closed the doors, smiling to himself.

"So where are we going to go then, Doctor?" she asked. He thought of all the places he _could_ go, all the places that needed him. Then he thought of River.

"Why is it that we have to go anywhere?" he asked. River rolled her eyes. They were standing close, then, and she could smell the scent of the time vortex clinging to his skin. His eyes twinkled. She grinned and twined her arms around his neck, pulling his head down for a kiss.

Of all the people the Doctor had kissed, or rather, all the people who had kissed the Doctor, River felt the most natural, the most _right._ It was simple really. This magnificent, crazy, sassy, gun shooting girl was his and he was hers. It didn't matter where they went, even though the Doctor knew he had planets to save, civilizations to protect- he could lose himself in those gorgeous eyes, get lost in all those perfect curls. The Doctor should've been out saving the universe.

But the Doctor was a selfish man.


	4. Consequences

"Oh I hate you!" River yelled as she felt the blue paint leaking down her back. The Doctor appeared in front of her, his smile flickering. He knew he shouldn't be enjoying this but it was so horribly funny. He rubbed his hands together. "Oopsie." He muttered, unable to wipe the grin off of his face. The can of blue paint he was holding slipped and clattered to the floor. "You are so gonna get it!" River snarled, leaping at him. Roaring with laughter, the Doctor sprinted down one of the hallways. Hot on his heels, River followed, blue paint flying in droplets after her. It would take ages to clean this out of her hair! "It was an accident!" the Doctor cried as he took a sudden left turn. He looked so ridiculous when he ran, River mused.

"Doesn't matter, sweetie!" she hollered, putting on a new burst of speed. He may think he knew the TARDIS, but River was a child of the TARDIS. "You pour paint on my head- you gotta face the consequences!" she threatened. His anguished face suddenly popped out in front of her. "But I didn't mean to!" he whined. He was gone before she could reach out and grab him. They ran for a while, the hallways and rooms always changing and River always being able to still remain on his trail. Finally, he stopped. They were back in the control room and he kneeled on the floor. "I surrender!" he wheezed. River walked slowly around him in a circle, grinning. "That's not gonna cut it, Doctor. You are going to _pay._" River was enjoying this far too much. The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Oh, yeah? What are you going to do, exactly?" he challenged. And without warning, River's fingers shot out and he was on the ground giggling for all he was worth. "I figured you were ticklish!" River laughed. The Doctor's face was a mixture of horror and humor. "You. Monster!" he wheezed between fits of laughter.

After what seemed like half an hour to the Doctor, River stopped. The Doctor laughed for a couple seconds after, tears streaking down his face. He sat up and took deep breaths. "You made me laugh until I cried." He said, his tone suggesting he had never done that before. "You made my hair blue!" River exclaimed, standing up. The Doctor hopped to his feet. "Well I didn't mean to!" he said. River smiled, turned, and gave him a quick kiss. "Oh I know." She said. The Doctor threw his hands in the air and gave up. "You are crazy, Doctor River Song, do you know that?" he accused. River grinned and nodded, then set off to find the shower to wash out her hair.


	5. John

Amy and Rory watched in dismay as the tree house Rory had just spent ages constructing was crushed to broken panes of wood under the sudden materialization of the TARDIS. The doors flew open and the Doctor stumbled out, looking sick, and River walked out rolling her eyes.

"You." the Doctor wheezed, looking at her with half-crazed eyes. "You nearly killed her." He accused, clutching his chest and breathing hard. Rory sputtered about his crushed handiwork and Amy raised her eyebrows at River.

"The genius over there decided it would be smart to-" River began, but the Doctor wasn't having that.

"Oh, no, River Song- don't tell your lies. _She_ was the one who decided to mess up all the controls and turn the brakes off, causing us to crash in your pile of scrap wood. _She _nearly murdered my TARDIS. Not me." the Doctor proclaimed, jabbing a finger in River's face.

"Pile of scrap wood- _that was a tree house_!" Rory cried. Amy tried not to laugh at the Doctor, who was trying so hard to look furious, but she couldn't help it when Rory added to the mix and started glaring at the Doctor. Neither of them excelled in angry looks, and both were quick to give up.

Later, when they all went inside to have tea and catch up, the Doctor made a face suggesting he had just noticed something very amiss. "Why do you even have a tree house?" he asked, frowning. Rory sighed. He knew the question would come sooner or later.

"It's for my son. John." Rory said, bracing himself for whatever reaction was to come.

"I have a brother?" River asked, taken aback.

"John! Like me! John Smith! You named him after me!" the Doctor cried, the excitement climbing in his voice. Amy rolled her eyes.

"No you idiot, we didn't name him after you. I just liked the name John." She said, shrugging and looking away. The Doctor's face fell.

"Yeah well if I had a daughter her name sure wouldn't be Amy. _Definitely _not. Amy's a terrible name." the Doctor huffed, crossing his arms and pouting like a five year old. River half expected him to stick his tongue out. She patted his arm comfortingly and then turned to her parents.

"How could you not tell me that I had a brother?" she asked. Amy and Rory shrugged simultaneously.

"You never came around. If you stay for a bit maybe you can meet him. He'll be back from school in less than an hour." Amy said, the blatant hope that they would stay for more than a short visit coloring her tone.

"Wonderful. Of course we'll stay." River said with a smile. The Doctor groaned and sunk into the couch. "Shut up, sweetie." River said, without a hint of sympathy.

As the minutes passed, the Doctor made his way around the small sitting room. He started out pouting on the sofa, then he was lying flat on the floor glaring at the ceiling, then he was knocking his head against the wall, then he sat with his feet up on the sofa and his head under the little table, finally he ended up on the sofa again, with his head in River's lap and his feet hanging over the armrest. River was half stroking his hair, half holding him to the spot so he would quit fidgeting.

"Honestly, I don't know why I put up with you." she hissed, annoyed. The Doctor grinned and looked up at her.

"Because you love me. Duh." He replied, to which River rolled her eyes but smiled despite herself.

When John arrived from school, forty five minutes later, the Doctor heaved a melodramatic, "Finally!", and Amy and Rory went over and hugged their son. River studied him from a distance. He was fully human, as he should be, with sky-blue eyes and bowl-cut blonde hair so light it was almost white. He was approximately five, she guessed by his height.

"John, you remember the stories we told you, about our adventures?" Amy asked. John looked star struck as he pointed to the Doctor.

"Yes! That's the funny man! The funny man with the weird bowtie and the magic blue box! That's him, isn't it, mummy?" the boy nearly shouted. The Doctor grinned and straightened his bowtie. He stuck out his hand.

"I prefer the Doctor. No. What about…hmm…Uncle Doctor. Brother-in-law would be too odd. Yes, I think Uncle will do." he mused, as he shook hands with John. River felt a pang of jealously, but knew she was being foolish. The Doctor was, after all, amazing. And to a little boy, a guy who travelled through time and space in a magic box was equivalent to a superhero, and little boys couldn't resist superheroes.

But she was heartened when the boy turned his pointing finger to River and gaped. "And that's her! That's River! Hey, that's my sister!" he cried, amazement running rampant on his face. He giggled in the sheer awesomeness of the moment.

"I believe I have a TARDIS to introduce you to." The Doctor said grandly, as he grinned and raced John outside.

"I have a feeling you're going to have to deal with your own mini Doctor." River chuckled. Rory groaned and Amy smiled, secretly hoping that that was exactly what she was going to have to deal with. Her own little Doctor.

**A/N: So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Don't really care? Tired of my questions? Do you even read these things? Okay I'll stop with the questions. I hope you've been enjoying the stories so far. If you a moment to spare, please don't forget to review. I love both compliments and critiques. Okay. I'll stop with this author's note now. Bye. -Blue**


	6. Boring

"You know, Doctor, I thought it to be impossible, but unfortunately, it's not. You have brought me to _the most boring_ planet. Ever." River complained, kicking the ground. Perhaps it wasn't River's place to complain. But after being stuck in a gloomy prison for all of her days, she wanted fun and exciting adventures, not a trip to Zukon 1, the first planet to survive (barely) an attack by the Mamos.

Everything was gray there. The ground, the sky, the inhabitants. After the surface had been stripped of everything but dust and an occasional stray rock, the few traumatized life forms to survive had fled to the core of the planet, where they barely functioned as a society, forever in fear of being wiped out completely.

The Doctor, however, seemed to be having the time of his life. He whirled around, swinging his sonic screwdriver and grinning like a madman. "River it's fantastic! Truly! The resilience, the determination of a species to survive, I mean the air is simply teeming with energy. The TARDIS will be full in no time!" he stopped spinning and caught her expression. "At least your pit stop on Earth has shops." She said, hiding her smile. She knew that wouldn't go down well with the Doctor. His expression was priceless.

"Shops? SHOPS!? How could you possibly prefer _shops_ to the amazing history of an amazing place? Honestly, River. The Zukonians started out as a mere group of single-celled organisms that evolved to peaceful, gigantic hounds who had the brains to cure all Earth diseases, the strength to dig to the center of their planet with their bare paws, the heart to not even attack a single visitor, besides attackers, to visit this planet, and now they're losing a battle of interest with _shops_?" he waved his hands in the air for added affect.

River would've supplied a snappy comeback, but suddenly the Doctor was gone. Just like that. He was there, ranting and raving, she blinked, and he had vanished. She narrowed her eyes and spun around, scanning the barren horizon for him. But he hadn't just wandered off in a flash- he had disappeared. "Doctor?" River called. Before she opened her mouth to call for him louder, her feet seemed to slip out from under her, and she was falling. Dirt and dust flew upwards before her eyes, past her arms and legs, and she found it harder and harder to breathe as she sank deeper and deeper into the ground.

After what seemed like forever, she collapsed to the ground, popping out of the dirt with a loud squelch. She stared at the spot she had exited from. The dirt was stitching back together, slowly returning to the hard-packed state of the dirt ceiling around it. She looked around. She seemed to be in some sort of hollowed out room; the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made out of gray dirt. Strange, blue light somehow filled the room without an apparent source. River could see no door. She listened quietly.

Obviously they had somehow been sucked underground from the surface. Like something that had happened to Amy when she was travelling with the Doctor. But this hadn't felt like she was being pulled, it was more like she had just fallen into a hole. With the unmistakable sound of dirt and gravel being pushed aside, a doorway appeared. In it sat a mangy black dog. It could've been a household pet, except for the fact that it was taller than River, had outrageous muscles, and was considerably terrifying. It cocked its head to the side and whined softly. "What? What did you to do me and that man? Where is he?" River demanded, her fingers itching to reach for the gun she had concealed in her pocket. The dog opened its huge jaw, revealing rows of little white daggers, and River expected it to bark, but in a strange, growling-like voice, it said, "Man with Chief. Woman with Eit. Woman follows Eit and does as Eit says." River frowned. She assumed the huge black hound was Eit. Carefully, she followed the dog out of the room and into a wide hallway, similar in nearly every way to the previous room. They began walking. Maybe the Doctor was right when he said that these Zukonians, if that was what Eit was, were friendly. She hoped that. But her hopes were dashed when she heard her husband scream.

…To be Continued…

**A/N: Ha, ha, I'm so evil. Unless you don't really care about what's going on, or maybe I just am not good at writing cliffhangers, or perhaps the story isn't really all that good, in which case I'm not evil in the least bit. Thanks so, so, so, so, so, much to those of you that reviewed, it made me so happy. :D After finishing this little adventure up, I will write one with John, and of course Amy and Rory, in it. Thanks for reading my story, and as always, please review if you want. -Blue**


	7. Not So Boring After All

**A/N: Tada. Part Dos. I'm not perfectly clear on Timelord physiology, so something (speedy healing) may not be true to the character but I included it anyway. I hope you enjoy, and reviews are always welcome. :) **

Eit whirled around instantly, teeth bared and snarling. River moved equally fast, ripping out her gun and shooting the dog in the nose. Eit thrashed backwards, howling in pain at his singed nose. Howls erupted all around River, echoing Eit's cry of pain. River could hear paws trampling on the ground and saw walls of fur closing in on her from both directions. Still, she was River Song and she had a Doctor to save.

She suffered no heartache as she fought and killed her way through the Zukonians, now snapping their jaws and glaring with furious eyes. The Doctor obviously didn't know as much as he said he did about this race. River fired her gun in all directions and followed the sound of a different howl, the Doctor's howl. One of the dogs managed to clamp onto her arm, digging his teeth into her flesh and refusing to let go. River shot him directly between the eyes, and his hold loosened as he fell to the ground. It seemed like a miracle to River that that was the only injury she had obtained.

Finally, she found an open doorway, past which she could see a fairly small Zukonian by comparison to the others holding the Doctor down with one paw. The Doctor was squirming and cringing and in every way making a big fuss. River would've rolled her eyes, but then she saw the dog's claws sunk into his chest. River, now even more furious than before, shot the wolf repeatedly. The wolf narrowly avoided each shot, but did remove its claws from the Doctor, who had scrambled into a corner, trying to plug the bleeding wounds with his hand.

"River, fancy seeing you here." The Doctor said, shuddering and making a disgusted face at all the blood.

"So the Timelord has a protector." The small Zukonian growled, in considerably better English than Eit. River prepared to shoot him again but the Doctor interrupted.

"No! No, River. Don't you know who that is? That's the Alpha, the leader of the Zukonians." The Doctor said, awe in his voice. River found it hard to fathom how he could both want to protect this beast, as well as praise it.

"Yeah, well, I've got news for you, sweetie, he was about to kill you. These Zukonians sure aren't friendly like you thought. And why is the smallest Zukonian the leader?" River rambled, only hesitating to shoot because she knew the Doctor, and this very well may not just be some silly thing that only he properly understood.

"I am Alpha because I am wise. Leaders don't always have to be the biggest and the strongest, strange time-child. And this man is not who you think he is." The Alpha said.

By then other Zukonians had gathered at the door, making impatient whines and pawing the ground, but never moving to enter the room.

"This man," The Alpha turned his fiery eyes toward the Doctor who looked away. River frowned. "Stole our most prized artifact. The very artifact that gave worth to our existence. The very thing that could've helped us rebuild from the ashes. Stolen. By him." Snarls of agreement ripped from the others outside. River raised her eyebrow and faced the Doctor, who was squirming uncomfortably. The bleeding had already stopped form his chest. He blushed deeply.

"I didn't- I mean it's not like I…you know, _stole_ is a very strong word, uh, rather _borrowed,_ I would say. Really, though, I planned on returning it. Honestly. In fact. Here. Right now." The Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out, of all things, a 64 pack of crayons. No one reacted. River waited for the punch line. But the Doctor was utterly serious.

"You cannot be serious."

The Alpha bowed reverently and the other wolves snarled in victory and thrummed the ground with their paws. The Doctor glanced at River sheepishly.

"This has got to be a joke." River said. Because if it wasn't, then this civilization was crazy, and the Doctor was even crazier.

"The Colors. The Colors that will bring life back to us, lead us back to the surface and give things beauty again." The Alpha said, still bowing.

So that made at least a particle of sense. River stormed over to the Doctor and slapped him. "Ow!" he yelped in surprise. He glared up at River like _she_ was the crazy one. "What did you do that for?" he asked, hurt.

"You. Stole. A. Pack. Of. _Crayons!_ From a distant planet. Crayons, Doctor. Crayons that turned out were important to someone. You are such a child! What possessed you to steal crayons?" She hollered.

The Doctor climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. He miraculously seemed healed now, and slowly River's arm was healing too. "Well, I was bored and I wanted something to do. Plus, how was I supposed to resist, they were sitting on a pedestal under a light, I figured they were free for the taking." He explained. River was on slightly aware that all of the Zukonians were watching them.

"Bored? I thought that this planet was anything but boring! I thought it was rich in history and energy and, _obviously _better than shops, or _crayons_." River hissed, her voice saturated in sarcasm. She was beginning to enjoy the Doctor's facial expression as he struggled for an excuse.

"Well it is better than shops." He said, defeated. River smiled and patted his cheek.

"Not a chance," she replied.

They managed to convince the Zukonians, who, as it turned out, usually were fairly peaceful, to let them go. So the two were shot up through the dirt, and popped out on the surface, almost exactly where they had vanished. The TARDIS was, as expected, full of energy.

As they went inside, the Doctor frowned and looked at River. "You got hurt." He commented. River shrugged.

"So did you."

"Yeah, but I'm not in love with _me._" the Doctor said, glancing at her before beginning to fly the TARDIS. River smiled.

"So what?" River asked. The Doctor sighed like he had given up.

"So next time we fuel up, I'll take you to some stupid shops."


	8. Cookies and Catsup

John would not stop squirming at the dinner table.

"John, eat your spinach." Amy suggested.

"John, sit still." Rory sighed. John still wiggled and shoved his helping of spinach to the very edge of his plate.

"But I can't! He's coming!" John replied. Amy and Rory shared a look. He had been saying that all day. They figured he had had some sort of nightmare about a monster, or something.

"Don't worry, John, you're safe, but you have to eat your vegetables." Amy practically begged.

"Safe? Course he's safe, I'm here. And vegetables? Ew." The Ponds all turned and saw the Doctor strolling through the back door trailed by River who was, as always, rolling her eyes. John leapt from his seat and threw himself onto the Doctor, jumping very high, actually, and ending with his arms clenched around the Doctor's neck. The Doctor staggered back.

"I told you he was coming! And look-he brought my sister!" John squealed, climbing like a monkey from the Doctor to River. Everyone chuckled.

"And this time, we're not going to have to do boring stuff like sit around and talk, we're going to-" The Doctor began, but Amy interrupted.

"Buy groceries, Doctor, _that_ is what we're going to do. But not before we all sit back down and eat. Our. Vegetables." The motherly venom in Amy's voice made even the Doctor grab a chair and sit still. As if for punishment, Rory and Amy served the Doctor a plate of solely spinach and carrots, while they give River a plate of chicken and potatoes, their actual dinner. The Doctor was aghast at the inequality.

"This isn't fair!" he whined. Amy then glanced pointedly at little John, who was silently eating his spinach. The Doctor groaned and shoved his fork into the green mush. He looked at it warily.

"Eat. _Now_." Amy said again. The Doctor shoved the food in his mouth.

Nearly an hour later, after having the Doctor finally finish his vegetables, as Amy and River both agreed no one would leave until he did, everyone piled into Rory's beloved car.

"Honestly, that was ridiculous. What was the purpose of that?" the Doctor complained. John giggled.

"Well, Doctor, I proved that stubborn little boys need to listen to their mummies and eat their vegetables." Amy replied in a voice suggesting she was speaking to a toddler.

"You're not my mummy." The Doctor replied exasperatedly.

"You know, I think John's youth is turning you into a child." Rory observed.

"Preposterous." The Doctor scoffed.

After a short car ride full of strange conversation between John and the Doctor, the group arrived at the grocery store. "Alright, people, listen up. Rory and I will get non-food groceries, and River you can take the Doctor and John because we all know that the Doctor will get absolutely nothing done on his own. And I don't want that rubbing off on my son." Amy ordered.

The Doctor was amazed the moment they entered the store. He constantly got sidetracked by special new flavors for things and new foods completely. The strangest things could amuse an ancient man who had seen all the wonders of the universe. "Uncle Doctor," John began. He had taken to holding the Doctor's hand as they walked. John, surprisingly, was quite calm and focused on their task.

"Yes, Johnny boy?" the Doctor replied absently, while observing two people squabbling over the last bag of a particular kind of crisps.

"Can I get some Jammie Dodgers?" John asked.

"But of course you can!" the Doctor answered, reaching to get some off of the shelf.

"Excuse me, Doctor; I seem to recall a large amount of other things that are actually on the list of things we are supposed to be buying." River said matter-of-factly, smiling slightly. The Doctor whirled to face her and gave her a very serious look.

"Now River, who are we to deny a young child," the Doctor grabbed John by the shoulders and presented him to River to punctuate his point, "the luxury of a biscuit that I can say is quite tasty. Besides, he's your brother, you're supposed to get him sweets." The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, please, sis?" John was learning fast that treating River like a proper sister was the way to get what you wanted.

"Oh, alright." She relented, smiling as the boys high fived and grabbed some off the shelf.

The Doctor was in the middle of explaining Article 4 of the Shadow Proclamation to John, who somehow seemed to be keeping up, when they ran into Amy and Rory.

"Did you get everything?" Amy asked. River nodded. "Milk?" she asked.

"Check." River said.

"Bread?"

"Check." The Doctor chimed.

"Eggs?"

"Checkers." John piped.

"Rice?"

"Seriously, I think we got everything." River assured her. Hesitantly, Amy led them all to the check-out. River could see the Doctor grin slightly as at least five different types of cookies were scanned, even though his smile was met by two evil glances. The car ride home was silent, except for the buzzing of the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor had handed it to John who was presumably pretending he was disarming aliens and saving the planet.

Disaster struck later when Amy was unpacking the groceries. The Doctor was playing hide-and-seek with John and a very unenthusiastic River. "DOCTOR!" Amy's screech was terrifying. The Doctor crept from his spot in the coat closet and into the kitchen, cringing.

"Yes?" he asked, bracing himself for the next shout.

"Two things." She said pleasantly. The Doctor smiled, relaxing. "First, I do not appreciate you buying an industrial sized container of catsup." The Doctor rocked back on his heels and smiled shamelessly. "And you forgot the bread, which you 'checked' off nonetheless. Why?" Amy asked, laughing because there was no explaining the Doctor's actions. The Doctor smile in return and walked over.

"Because, Amelia Pond," he tapped her on the nose, "Catsup is brilliant and bread is boring. It's not rocket science. Actually it is that simple. It's like rocket science Amy, John could do it. Honestly."

**A/N: So it may not be my best one, but I just wanted to get something up and I tried my best. Better ones are to come, I promise. I would love some reviews despite the mediocrity of this particular one-shot. Okay bye. :) -Blue**


	9. Bedtime Story

**A/N: So…Long time no see. I am extremely sorry for the gargantuan period of no updates, (although perhaps no one really cared) but I will try my best to think of good ideas and update as much as I can. Enjoy!**

John, River, and the Doctor observed the sea of discarded books on the floor before them. The trio sat squished together on John's small bed, bathed in the light of the glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the ceiling. The Doctor stared at the books like they were sad, pitiful creatures, River gazed upon them like a mother to her child, and John was pensively wondering why his favorite sister and Uncle were not reading him a bedtime story like they had promised.

"Are you going to read me a story?" John finally asked, knowing that if he fell asleep without a story first, certainly something terrible would happen, and his eyelids were feeling exceptionally heavy. River and the Doctor's heads both whipped to face him, both as if just realizing he was there.

"Oh, yeah, sure." His Uncle Doctor muttered. _But not any of these rubbish books._ He added silently. He knew far too well insulting something River was fond of was a very bad idea.

"Of course! We just haven't picked one yet." River added. She leaned over and grabbed one from the floor. "Here's a good one."

"Oh, please." The Doctor coughed. River glared at him icily and he shrugged sheepishly, but his face remained undeterred. "I cannot stand by while you fill our John's little mind full of unimaginative words thrown together by a group of dull monkeys." He said sternly. River raised her eyebrow and waved the book in the air. John smiled to himself. Despite the argument, albeit a funny one, they were having, John was always pleased when they called him 'our John'.

"It's _Cinderella_, Doctor. A classic. I can't believe you just said that this was-" River started but she was interrupted by the Doctor, who had leapt to his feet, staring at River like she'd said something terrible.

"River!" he hollered accusingly.

"What!?"

"How dare you speak of such things in front of John?"

"You're being ridiculous, sit down." River sighed. "How is a classic fairy tale something terrible?"

"For one- the main character eats her mother and then kills her best friends, all to get the chance to lick a 5 ton ball of mucus!" the Doctor exclaimed. John made a face and River stared at the Doctor like he was an idiot. Which, at the moment, he was.

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about," River stopped to give him one of her many signature looks, "but Cinderella is a perfectly acceptable book. No mucus." She tossed it in the Doctor's lap as he sat back down and thumbed through the pages. After a second of skimming, he tossed the book up in the air and watched it crash to the ground.

"Absolutely not." He declared. John giggled and River smiled. Sometimes there was nothing else you could do when your favorite ancient alien turned into a pouting grump.

"Why don't you choose one, John?" River suggested. John's face lit up with excitement as his eyes scanned the books. River knew that look from gazing into the Doctor's eyes as he watched the night sky fly by when the TARDIS drifted through distant space. It was a look of excitement, wonder, and a hint of mischief all rolled into one.

"There. That one." John announced, hopping off the bed and grabbing the first Harry Potter book from a high shelf on the opposite wall.

"Oh, but John, don't you want us to finish a story before you go to bed? There's no way we could finish that before…" River trailed off as John clutched the book to his chest and pled with his eyes.

River laughed, shook her head, and accepted the book. "Right. Harry Potter. Brilliant." The Doctor said, grinning. "You know I was there when she wrote it. Sitting right there in the café next to her. In fact, the waiter bringing over her drink tripped and spilled it all over me. That was a while ago, actually. But I remember she was quite nice about the whole thing. When she got back to writing, I'll never forget that gleam in her eye. I knew that something important was being written just by that glint- that's how _cool_ I am. I even skipped ahead and, what do you know, _I was right_." The Doctor bragged, ruffling John's hair and grinning.

"That was nearly a bedtime story in itself." River chuckled, before opening the book. She didn't get four words out before the Doctor snatched it from her hands.

"You're doing it all wrong, River." He said. Then he began to read, putting on a ridiculous voice and adding layers of intonation on each word. He imitated every voice, and River had to admit it was entertaining, not to mention John who was hanging on the Doctor's every word.

They hadn't even made it to Harry and Ron's meeting when both boys had fallen asleep, leaning on each other. River smiled and kissed each of them on the forehead- her brother and her 5 year old husband.

**A/N: Where you able to enjoy the chapter despite how late it was updated? Did you laugh and cry and have you whole perspective of the world shifted?! Just kidding. Ha. As always, I tried my best, but if you don't like my best please let me know. :)**

**Anyway, I hope you **_**did**_** enjoy it, and as I seem to say every time- reviews are always welcome! (And fantastically appreciated!)**


	10. Jane, Pluto, and Nebula

**Yay! A new one! How exciting! ;)**

Many things happened simultaneously, every one of them making Amy smile.

Her little boy blew out the candles of his cake as he became a four year old, right on the exact minute of his birth. Her not-even-a-week-old baby girl smiled up at her. And the TARDIS crashed into the bushes in the back garden.

A huge grin grew across John's face as he hopped off of his chair and sprinted outside, with Rory helping Amy quickly behind him. The Doctor stepped out of his TARDIS with a squirming bundle in his arm, grinning at River who carried a similar load. "Is that…?" Amy asked in amazement.

"A puppy!" the Doctor excitedly announced, just as the small white head of a Husky popped out of the blanket. Amy took a breath of both relief and disappointment.

"Is _that…_?" River asked in the same tone, glancing at the small girl in Amy's arms.

"A baby! Another one? Oh, never mind, I love babies!" the Doctor said, gently passing the puppy to John, who was shaking with excitement. The Doctor walked over and grinned at the baby.

"Before you say anything- it's cool, deal with it." He muttered. Amy rolled her eyes and smiled proudly at River, who was staring lovingly at the child.

"Her name is Jane." Rory announced.

"His name is Nebula!" John giggled, hoisting aloft his puppy like it was Simba.

"What do you mean it's not cool?!" The Doctor hollered at Jane.

"And that one's Pluto. I'll always think it's still a planet, you know." John continued.

"I don't think I really like babies." The Doctor huffed.

"Quit hollerin' at my baby!" Amy growled.

"Good to see you again." Rory muttered to River with a grin, as they tried to follow the confusing scene before them. River had set the puppy down, and now John was rolling around in the grass while the puppies jumped over him. He would occasionally talk about his plans to make them 'space puppies', directing his comments to the Doctor, who was trying to convince Jane that his bowtie was not, as the Doctor translated, 'an abomination against fashion for all life forms, including ridiculous Time Lords, no matter how much he insisted that it wasn't'. And Amy just glared at the Doctor and told him to stop upsetting Jane. Then the Doctor stepped back, tripped over Nebula and fell flat on his back, while John laughed until he cried, Amy grinned and rolled her eyes, Nebula tried to reconcile with the Doctor by licking his face, and the Doctor suddenly patted the dog on the head, leapt to his feet, and happily tapped Jane on the nose.

"With the right kind of lecture even the most hopeless cases can be reversed. River, good news. Your sister agrees with us that my bowtie, is, officially and irrevocably, cool." The Doctor announced. But when Amy looked down, to her amazed amusement, her little girl rolled her eyes.

**A/N: So, a little on the cheesy side perhaps (as if my other ones aren't) but there you go. I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and reviews are, and always will be, cool. –Blue **


	11. Loss

**A/N: I suppose it's not my best, but I haven't updated in quite a while and I was feeling like writing this. I hope you enjoy :) **

**You know, I've noticed. I sure do put a lot of smiley faces all over the place. I suppose I feel I sound too serious when I leave one out. Oh well.**

**Doctor Who does not belong to me. Believe me, if it did, I wouldn't have to wait until Christmas for the next episode. And every episode would be bursting with fluff. Alas…**

It was just one of those nights.

The stars outside twinkled fantastically, a dizzying array of beautiful, burning majesty. The TARDIS hummed rhythmically, sleeping, to an extent.

The previous day had been filled with heart-pumping adventure, breathless laughs of relief and adrenaline-filled grins. There had been no shortage of ridiculous running around and darting trouble at every turn, with the swinging of a Sonic Screwdriver and the whiny complaints about the use of weapons, laced with flirts in the face of death.

Also in abundance were many unnecessary tangents, delivered by the Doctor, concerning things it was impossible to be interested in. That was possibly the best part of River's day, when her husband had ranted about the surface temperature of the TARDIS console when she crashed into the Thames, an incident that had apparently happened so frequently it prompted a fifteen-minute discussion, all while trying to escape some bloodthirsty cannibal aliens. There was something about that whimsical, childlike happiness in his eyes that was impossible not to be drawn to.

However, as the universe had seen it fit to decree, it was on those best days that the worst nights had to occur.

It began when the Doctor had hugged River a little too long, as if when he let go she would just dissolve into a million tiny pieces and fly away. Then he stared into her eyes, trying to make it look just happy and lovey-dovey, but poorly hiding his empty, hollow look of loss. Had the Doctor lost someone today so many years ago, which was causing his stricken looks? It couldn't be that. Because his stare had been for _her_. His hug had been holding on to _her_.

Yet the Doctor put on a good show. He grinned at the TARDIS matrix and whispered to it affectionately as she piloted them off into deep space to drift aimlessly while they slept. He had done his silly dance around the console, seemingly messing up on purpose just so River would trail behind him and correct his every move. Then he'd grinned at her, a carefree, loving smile that didn't seem to be hiding anything. He'd taken her in his arms and hugged her, enveloping her in the smell of time itself clinging to his skin, and then he kissed her on the forehead and darted off to bed.

And there lay the problem. A good hour after he'd 'accidentally' fallen asleep in his tweed and bowtie again, River watched as he slipped out of bed and silently ghosted out of the room. River had stayed awake as he pretended to sleep, as she always did when he was _actually_ sleeping, to absently stroke his hair and listen to his sweet little sleep-talking, which usually consisted of muttering her name.

River waited a minute or so after he'd gone then silently stood up, walking gently across the floor and throughout the TARDIS halls, taking the shortest path to the control room, where he was most likely to go.

River stopped in the shadows, where she had a clear view of him. She caught the glint of tears streaming down his cheeks, which worried her.

The Doctor didn't cry.

But tonight, there he was, doing just that. His hands were braced against the console, his fingers clenching it so hard the knuckles were white. His face looked sunken and sallow in the dim light, and he was biting his lip to hold in a cry. He swallowed with difficulty and straightened up, his eyes looking lost and scared, like a child who'd been separated from their mum in a superstore. He absently stroked the console with his thumb, and then rubbed his anguished face in his hands.

"I'm going to lose her." He cried, his voice hitching in the middle and then breaking into little gasps. "Oh, no, I'm going to lose her." He whispered, as a fresh set of tears careened down his face and splashed on the console.

River touched her own cheeks and found tears their too. _Me?_ She thought. _Is he going to lose me?_

She stifled a sob. _Am I going to lose him? _She thought. Somehow she found this worse. Was she really going to lose the one man she had torn the universe apart for?

She ran away quickly and quietly, as he slowly turned to make his return. As River ran she wiped away her tears, wiped away the damage that he simply could not see. She climbed into bed and feigned sleep, forcing herself to breathe deeply.

It was dark enough that she could slightly open her eyes to watch him, as he drifted in and sat on the edge of the bed. Starlight danced in his eyes, still swimming with tears, as he lay back and twined his arms around her, holding her tightly. He buried his face in her curls and breathed her name, his tone mangled with love and loss and pain.

_Yes,_ she thought, biting her lip and holding in tears that so desperately wanted to run free. _Yes, she was going to lose him. _

Yeah, it was just one of those nights.

**A/N: Hm. A little on the depressing side, that. Thoughts? Reviews make me super happy :) -Blue**

**Oh, and also, I guess this is slightly veering off the course Moffat seems to be taking (I mean what is that man thinking? Obviously, the TARDIS can hold two lovely, wonderful psychopaths.) I digress; River/11 will always be together in my eyes, no matter what the mean Moffat does. :) **


	12. Nikola, Not 'Nick'

**This one sort of isn't so focused on the Doctor and River. Well it is, but the point of it is sort of not them, I guess. Whatever. This one has Nikola Tesla in it, so hurray. If you don't know who that is, that makes me very sad. You should seriously look him up. Enjoy :)**

It was January 6, 1943. Room 3327 of the Hotel New Yorker. And something was very amiss.

"Doctor," River hissed. "Why have you brought us here?" From what River could see, they had landed in a dark, disheveled hotel room, and an old-fashioned one at that.

"I needed to meet with an old friend. No one you know. Probably." The Doctor muttered, stepping gingerly from the TARDIS threshold. "Are you sure you don't want to sit this one out?" the Doctor rounded on her with a pained, begging expression. "You know, just wait for me in the TARDIS?"

River rolled her eyes and breezed past him. "_Wait for me in the TARDIS_," she mocked. "Yeah, like that's going to happen." With a groan of frustration, the Doctor followed after his wife.

They made their way through the small hotel room, trying not to disturb any of the many piles of papers and little gadgets littering every surface of the room, though the Doctor occasionally stopped and marveled at something, grinning at it like it was a long-lost pet.

Finally they reached the Doctor's destination; the balcony. The glass doors were wide open, and moonlight poured in, acting as a sort of spotlight for the spindly man sitting on the ground, scribbling in a notebook. River stopped in her tracks, trying to recognize who he might be.

"Well he's quite handsome, isn't he?" River murmured, smiling. The Doctor made a noise of annoyance in the back of his throat and gave her a childish glare. River chuckled lightly. The man did not seem to notice any of it.

The man suddenly stopped writing, glanced up into the starry sky, then returned his gaze to the notebook. He continued writing, in a more frenzied and frantic manner than before. "Well then, Nick. Hows that death ray coming along?" the Doctor said, grinning. He slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. The man smiled.

"I have told you many times, Doctor, my name is _Nikola._ Not Nick." The man said. River frowned. He sounded Croatian. Suddenly, she realized, feeling stupid she had not made the connection earlier.

"Nikola Tesla?" she hissed to the Doctor. He shrugged sheepishly.

"Yes. A fine man, a great inventor. What's the problem?" he demanded, glancing between her and Nikola.

"Nothing against _him._" she dropped her voice even lower and quieter. "But do you know what happens tomorrow?" She asked. The Doctor nodded solemnly, but then smiled and he turned back to Nikola.

"Nick. You know, a little pet name. A _nick_name. Get it?" The Doctor chuckled, then stopped abruptly when neither of them joined in.

"So the death ray, then?" the Doctor quickly asked, trying to ignore the lack of appreciation for his joke. Tesla smiled slightly, still writing.

"You know Doctor, both you and I do not enjoy violence. I suspect you are not as interested in the device as you try to appear. Perhaps you should introduce your friend." Tesla suggested.

"Ah yes. This is River. My River. Doctor River Song. Doctor Song. Everybody just calls her River." the Doctor rambled. "You know the Ponds? Yeah, love the Ponds. See, they had a daughter, and she was kidnapped, and raised to kill me, and then she did, and I died, so she was in jail. Then I married her. She's my wife now."

River wondered if it was Tesla' impending death that was making the Doctor speak in such a confusing manner. However, Tesla did not seem fazed.

"Fascinating." he replied as if he really meant it.

"Yeah. We just wanted to stop by. Say hello, and whatnot. And remind you how awesome you are. Lots of good stuff." the Doctor muttered.

"Doctor, you can stop rambling now. I believe I know why you're really here. I am going to die." Tesla said.

A cold silence shocked the air. Tesla closed his notebook and slowly got to his feet. He was so thin, River noticed. "Don't worry though. You tend to worry, I think. But since I already know of my demise, I am content." Tesla said with a small smile. The Doctor wasn't sure how to proceed.

"Perhaps, you could provide me with one last favor. When, Doctor? When will I die?"

The Doctor hesitated. "I won't try to stop it." Tesla laughed. "I will embrace it."

"Tomorrow. It's, tomorrow, my brave old friend." the Doctor said sadly. Tesla nodded.

"I will go into the night with a light heart and kind friends on my mind. Thank you Doctor, and the lovely River. I think I will sleep now." Tesla said, smiling at them.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor sighed and sat down heavily in his chair. After setting the TARDIS on the course for somewhere to stay for the night, River walked over and hugged his neck.

"Did you visit often?" she asked quietly.

"Yes." the Doctor sounded distant and sad. "Yes, many times. I often used to visit people."

"And what happened?"

The Doctor smiled wistfully. "They grew old, they forget, and they died. Or…" he said.

He stood up from the chair and then he hugged River properly, pressing his face to her curls, and then kissed her forehead, all as if he needed to make sure she was still there, that she wasn't just another ghost whom he couldn't visit anymore.

"Or they simply stopped waiting."

**A/N: Gosh, these have been pretty depressing lately. Maybe I'll make them happy soon. Or not. I suppose I haven't quite decided.**

**May I just say, Nikola Tesla was a wonderful inventor, and deserves far more credit for his awesomeness than he gets. Just saying. And in case you didn't know, he really was working on a death ray. He was only making it so that all the wars would stop, however. And he did die on January 7, 1943. In room 3327 of the Hotel New Yorker. And he was best buds with the Doctor. (Obviously) :D**

**If you'd like, please review, it makes me so happy. - Blue**


	13. Not Fun Out of Character

**A/N: I am really very sorry. I feel like I've been a very bad author. A lot of stuff has just been going on lately, and I haven't been very motivated, but I'm going to really try to be consistent with updates from now on (especially with my other story; new chapter coming very, very soon)**

**Anyway, this one has two parts, with all the action-y stuff really happening in Part 2. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy Part 1 :)**

Amy watched her children quietly, hidden from their view, smiling a smile so great; the stars couldn't duplicate its light.

John, galloping around in a tweed coat of Rory's that was much, much too big for him, swung a wooden spoon around in the air, concocting surprisingly accurate sound effects. Jane ran around with equal enthusiasm, chasing after John, giggling. A bow tie was tied around John's neck, and Jane had fussed for ages until she got one too, tied up in her curly hair.

Nebula and Pluto burst forth from an overturned cardboard box that had been colored and pasted with all things remotely blue. The pair danced around John and Jane's legs, barking happily. In the spirit of fairness and equality, bowtie dog-tags had been fastened to each of their collars.

"Amy, enough dillydallying! We've got things to do!" John boomed.

"Oi! You can't tell me what to do!" Jane hollered back, her voice ringing with Scottish defiance that was nearly a match for her mother's.

"Sure I can! I'm the Doctor! Last of the Timelords, destroyer of worlds, the oncoming storm, he-who-must-not-be, oh wait, sorry. That's not me, certainly not. No matter. I'm the Doctor." John ducked into his makeshift TARDIS, unleashing another cacophony of sound effects.

"No fair, John, I want to go into the TARDIS!" Jane cried, tugging on her brother's sleeve. John popped his head out of the box and smiled.

"Oh, alright, Janey. You can have a go. But you're not supposed to break character!" John laughed, mussing up Jane's hair and exiting their TARDIS.

Jane smiled in gratitude and crawled inside. After a silent pause, she made a noise of curious discovery. "To be honest, it's not as fun out of character." Jane decided, leaving the TARDIS and joining her brother on the couch.

"Nothing is ever as fun when it's out of character." An unmistakably familiar voice agreed. John and Jane exclaimed surprise in unison, leaping off the couch and running to the Doctor himself, who stood at the entrance of the room.

"Doctor!" Amy said happily. The Doctor smiled and hugged them all, even giving Nebula and Pluto pats on the head. "Where's River?" Amy asked; worry shooting through her like ice.

"As a matter of fact, that's why I'm here today, besides wanting to see the lovely John and Jane, look how you've grown. How old are you anyway?" He asked.

"Eight!" John piped.

"Four!" Jane proclaimed proudly.

"My, my. Terrific ages, brilliant. Well, we should be heading off." Amy caught a strange look of anxiousness in the Doctor's eyes as he turned and started marching out the door.

"John, Jane, Amy, into the TARDIS. The Roman… where's the Roman?" the Doctor prattled, spinning a quick circle, as if Rory were hiding in the cabinets and would suddenly pop out.

"Work. I'm sure we've established that we do have lives." Amy said with a grin. The Doctor let out a huff of breath.

"Well then he'll have to miss out. Not to worry, we'll get back not five minutes from now, promise. In fact, if we don't leave now we'll surely run into ourselves arriving." the Doctor said, winking at John.

"Are we really going into the real TARDIS? And actually going into space this time?" John asked, shaking from excitement.

"Not just space, my dear boy, but time itself as well. This is going to be a real adventure." the Doctor said 'adventure' as if it were a magic spell.

As Jane and John raced to the TARDIS, which waited expectantly in the front garden, Amy grabbed the Doctor's arm. "Doctor." her tone was low, ominous. Definitely a warning. The Doctor never really cared for warnings, especially from an angry Amy. "When you say five minutes, you had better mean it. I will not leave Rory here by himself, waiting, for years. Understand? Five minutes." Amy ordered.

The Doctor grinned and straightened his bow tie. He tapped Amy on the nose. "Amelia Pond. Five minutes." He promised, and then darted off to the TARDIS.

While the Doctor reveled in John and Jane's reaction to the TARDIS, Amy wondered with increasing worry exactly where her daughter was.

It didn't take long for the Doctor to run to the console, enthusiastically explaining to the kids in rapid-fire fashion how the TARDIS was piloted. Amy could tell from their expressions they didn't understand it one bit, but both of their faces were ablaze with excitement and joy, so fierce it managed to melt Amy's fears for a moment, at least.

But that moment of relaxation began and ended in the course of ten seconds, and it would prove to be the only relief she would feel for quite some time.

…

Amy first realized something was wrong when she saw the Doctor's expression. It came and went in a split-second, nothing more than a flash, but Amy saw it crystal clear. A mix of surprise, worry, confusion and dread, all rolled into one big recipe for disaster of possibly literal astronomical proportions.

"Doctor-" She began threateningly, but Amy was unable to finish, for she was abruptly cut off by a horrendous, mind-splitting screeching. Mingled with the screams of her beloved children, it was the most sickening, horrifying sound Amy had ever had the misfortune of hearing. She screamed their names and the TARDIS shook violently, flinging her across the console room. She would've crashed painfully into the staircase if it weren't for her being plucked from the air by the Doctor, who was somehow clinging to the console, sheltering Jane and John, and saving Amy from serious injury.

"What's going on?!" Amy screamed over the terrible, incessant noise. She had seen the TARDIS malfunction before, had endured a great deal of battering from space and time travel gone wrong, but this was different, this was something more sinister than that. The Doctor shook his head and huddled closer to the kids and Amy, uncertainty pooling in his eyes.

"I've got to…get…to…" The Doctor was drowned out by the screeching, which seemed to be reaching a crescendo, increasing in volume and ferocity.

The TARDIS was thrashing around, as if a person had taken hold of it and was swinging it around. Struggling to gain any footing at all, the Doctor stood. Amy took his place hovering over the kids, and she watched as he tried everything, did everything it seemed possible for him to do to the console to get them out of whatever was happening, but nothing seemed to be working.

Without warning or any discernible cause, the noise cut off, just like that. It simply stopped. The TARDIS gradually stilled, and the Doctor stared uncomprehendingly at the console. "I don't-" He began to say, when he was interrupted by a different noise. This noise wasn't nearly as fierce, but it was almost as loud, a great big sucking noise, like a vacuum. _Exactly_ like a vacuum.

The Doctor realized this merely seconds after the noise began. He whirled around and tried to form words, tried to warn them, tried to save them, but all he could manage was to bellow, "NO!" before the TARDIS doors opened up, revealing a strange white nothingness, which promptly grabbed the Doctor and tore him away for the console and away from Amy and Jane and John, who all screamed in terror and disbelief.

The thing, whatever it was, consumed the Doctor like a greatly anticipated meal, and then abruptly disappeared, closing the doors of the TARDIS behind it.

**To Be Continued**


	14. Trapped

Part Two

**A/N: Actually I was wrong. This is going to have three parts. **

**I don't know…this story was much better in my head. Sorry if it turns out to be of low quality… :P**

It was very, very quiet. It was as if no one breathed, no one cried, no one even existed for a good couple of minutes after the Doctor was taken.

But then, slowly, the Doctor's three friends came back to life. John was first. His face, frozen in a state of sheer terror, was streaked with tears. When he stood he did so shakily, gently detaching himself from his mother's iron grasp. The TARDIS was completely still, and utterly quiet, though the matrix was very much alive and present. It was as if the TARDIS was ashamed of what had just transpired, shamed into silence.

John gingerly touched the console, so unsure, so afraid. Amy stood not long after that, also shaking, clutching Jane like a life preserver to her chest. She wasn't sure what to think, what to do. Could he really be gone this time? Just like that? What about all the TARDIS's shields and protections? Surely they had to have been protected against things like that.

"John," Amy said softly, holding out her free hand. John moved as if in a trance, trailing his fingers along the console's edge, and then slowly he hugged his mother.

"He's gone." John whispered. Amy nodded and tried not to sob. Should she pilot the TARDIS back home, or try to find wherever the Doctor had gone? She was utterly lost, terribly unsure.

"Mummy…" Jane breathed, her voice thick with tears.

"Sh, it's okay Janey, we're going to be alright." Amy comforted, though her voice hitched at the end.

"No, mummy," Jane protested, pointing. "The scanner. John, look at the scanner, show mummy, it _says_ something." Jane insisted. A spark of hope flared up in Amy, and she yanked the scanner into view.

"Galexpie. What's that supposed to mean?" Amy muttered to herself. The word was prominently displayed on the scanner, obvious in fat, white letters against a black background. "Who's Galexpie?" Amy wondered aloud.

"Uh, mum, I don't think it's a _who_, I think it's a _where_. That is…I think that's where we are." John murmured, gesturing towards the doors that were once again open, only this time, the door was open only slightly, allowing just a small sliver of the outside to be seen. No longer were they floating in space. Instead, they were now standing on a very strange planet.

In comparison to some things Amy had seen, it really wasn't all that outrageous. However, it was pretty strange. The ground was made of strange, powdery, dry purple dirt, dotted with the occasional purple rock. That was the only component of the planet that Amy was able see.

Because hanging in the air, off in all directions- was a dense purple fog. It was like a thick wall, an unmoving, purple thing that was impossible to see through or past. Curiously, Amy stuck her hand in the fog. It was cool, but did not seem to consist of water vapor like normal Earth fog. Her hand slid through easily; perhaps a little tougher than it would move in plain air, but the purple stuff was definitely not a solid.

Amy decided the only option she truly had was to take action.

"Okay, here's the plan. You'll each hold onto my hand. Under no circumstances, unless I specifically tell you, will you let go. You will hold tight to me and stay close, understand?" Amy said forcefully, grabbing the hands of her children.

John and Jane both nodded vigorously. "At the first sign of danger we're running straight back and closing the doors behind us. Try to stay quiet, okay? I know we're sad and scared and worried, but we're going to get through this. We'll find the Doctor, we'll get back home. We'll be okay." Amy promised, fighting to keep her voice from shaking. Taking a deep breath and acting before her common sense kicked in, Amy stepped from the TARDIS, her children in tow.

It was eerily quiet as they walked. Amy walked slowly, squeezing her kids' hands and trying to see through the fog. She was growing increasingly alarmed that as they continued walking forward, the fog seemed to get thicker and thicker, and gradually it became harder to breath. Previously, they had been able to breathe the fog like oxygen, although Amy was ashamed that she had not made sure of this before they ventured out. For all she knew it could've been poison.

"Mummy, maybe…maybe we should…" Amy instantly knew something wasn't right. Jane's voice was too slurred, too soft and delirious. She sounded drugged. Amy watched in sickening realization as her daughter swayed precariously, then slumped to the ground

"Oh, no. No, no, no." Amy cried, cursing under her breath. She starting sprinting back towards the TARDIS, half-carrying Jane and dragging John along, beating herself up for letting this happen.

How could she have been so oblivious, so idiotically sure that she knew what she was doing? She wasn't the Doctor; she couldn't take risks like this and have everything still turn out alright.

But soon it became apparent this plan of hers wouldn't work. John started tripping over his own feet, Jane was almost completely limp, and Amy herself began to feel lightheaded.

A fresh batch of tears began pouring down her face. She had been so stupid. She had been irrational, and now something was wrong with her precious son and daughter. She could feel hysteria building up inside her, clouding her judgment and making her panicked.

She tried carrying both her kids, running and trying to revive them as she went, but it was only a matter of time before she fell. She collapsed, her children tumbling down beside her. John was doing okay, swaying slightly but conscious, but Jane had no such luck. She seemed completely out of it.

Of course it had been poison. That was just what they needed, another disaster to deal with. "Please, Jane!" She cried, uselessly shaking her and patting her cheek. She hugged Jane to her chest and pulled John over as well, rocking them back and forth, half aware she was being nonsensical- she should've been doing something, but far too overwhelmed to care. Besides, she was half gone as well. She could feel herself drifting; feel her life somehow slowly draining from her as her children lay limply in her arms. Maybe sleep wasn't such a bad idea. It was beginning to sound like a very, very nice idea to Amy, until-

"Identify yourselves before we shoot!" A gruff voice suddenly yelled. Amy felt her heart sink even lower. Of all the things to happen to her today, now they were being threatened with guns.

"I'm just a human, okay? Leave us alone." She called wearily, slowly rising to her feet and pressing her children to her sides.

"A human, eh? An _Earth_ human?" Amy couldn't quite pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but it was definitely male, and sounded human. She frowned.

"Yeah. Where else would I be from?" she questioned, trying to sound tough. A chorus of laughter erupted from all around him. She heard Jane whimper in fear.

Directly in front of her, Amy watched as a man, certainly human and covered in strange tattoos and sporting an out of place, scaly limb below his left arm, stepped forward, the fog clearly slightly just enough for her to see him.

"Why, you would be from Galexpie, of course." The man's mouth twisted into an evil sneer, and Amy then knew for sure that this man was trouble. She contemplated her options. Most likely she was surrounded, and she had no weapons or brilliant, smooth-talking Doctor. Instead, she had two innocent children who were depending on her to save the day.

"Such a shame, you being from Earth. And so pretty too." The man rumbled, lumbering forward a step. From within his coat he withdrew a stained, crooked metal blade. Before he could approach any further, however, many things happened all at once.

One, the purple fog vanished. Just like that, Amy blinked and the air was clear.

Two, a bloody, crude knife sprouted from the strange man's chest, causing him to crash to the ground, murdered. A wild shriek erupted from Amy's throat, like a beast set free from its cage. John clung to Amy with what waning strength he had left, and Amy clutched Jane tightly to her, determined to protect them at least, at all costs.

And lastly, a new man came into view, along with a band of others who were quickly and efficiently murdering another group, the group that had surrounded Amy and her children, presumably the ones who'd laughed earlier.

This new man was very different from the previous one. This man was much older, with weathered, wrinkly skin, a long, tangled beard and frizzy white hair. He was much shorted and thinner, and much more human-like. One of his eyes seemed to have no iris at all, and the other eye was a strange orange color, but other than that he looked normal.

He crouched down and reclaimed his knife from the body of their previous attacker, wiping off the blood on her pants. Amy had seen many things, and though this certainly upset her, she couldn't even imagine what her kids were thinking, or how it would affect them. "My name's Don." The man said, his voice sounding like he had a thousand things troubling him.

"You wouldn't be _Amy_, would you? With that, uh, eccentric fella? What was it- the Doctor, maybe?" Amy felt her heart flip with hope.

"Yes, yes I was. I am. Do you know where he is? What's happened? Is he okay? Where is he?" The words tripped over themselves as Amy struggled to get them all out.

"Slow down, lady. Last time I saw that boy was yesterday. Came here in a, a funny box contraption? Called it a tarnis?" Don drawled.

"TARDIS." John piped, surprising Amy. He must've been mighty resilient to stay alert for so long.

"Yeah, sure, kiddo. Anyways, he said he'd bring kids to come get her." Don said.

"Who?" Amy again felt her heart sink back into dread.

"A real feisty girl. River, maybe? Yeah, that's it. River, he called her. Yeah. Well, she's got herself in a bit of a predicament."

…

Amy watched vigilantly as two men from Don's group slid needles into her kids' arms. Don had yet to fully explain everything; who his people were, why they were helping, why everyone looked to be human- but he did offer them medicine to counteract the effects of the purple fog. Amy made one of Don's men take it first to ensure that it was safe, and then insisted on her children receiving it before her.

It took barely two minutes, then both of her children where alert and awake, unharmed. Only then, when she was sure they were okay and safe, did she take the medicine, one that forced her to sleep as it did its job.

Soon enough though, she awoke, and they were ready. Don was going to take them to River.

…

"What's happened to her? Is she hurt?" Amy demanded. They were walking across a flat expanse of land, and Don refused to tell her where their destination was. Amy observed the landscape. There were plants and trees of multiple purples shades, blues and pinks as well, and buildings were far off in the distance- but that's all she could see.

"Well, as far as I know, she's fine. That friends of yours, he's a strange one- he was hopping around investigating everything. The girl was trying to keep him in line when she got herself into a tricky situation. I tell you, that boy did everything he could to get her out, and by then he'd attracted our attention, so when he gave up he started going on and on about these kids who he thought could help, squeeze through the small spaces and such, he apparently loves them very much by the way, I mean he would _not_ shut up-"

"But is she okay?" Amy interrupted, desperate to know for sure. Don shot Amy a slightly annoyed look, then gestured to an assortment of rocks and boulders.

"See for yourself." He replied.

Amy, John, and Jane raced towards the rocks, crawling over and around them, trying to see her. "River! Are you alright?" Amy called.

"Amy? Is that you?!" River's voice was far-away sounding but definitely there, and definitely okay.

"Yeah! I've got John and Jane! Are you alright?" Amy hollered.

"I'm fine. My ankle's twisted, but really, it's nothing. Is the Doctor not there? Because when I get out of this I swear I'm going to kill that man!" River yelled.

"How did you get down there?" Amy hollered.

River then went on to explain how she had stumbled down through some spaces between the rocks, but the rocks had moved and shifted, closing her in. She was sure if someone was able to get to her, they could help support her, and she might be able to maneuver her way out.

"Mummy, I can." John said softly. "I'm alright. I really want to help Melody, mummy, and I'll be careful." John begged, and as much as Amy just wanted him to stay completely out of harm's way, River needed help. Hesitantly, she nodded.

Slowly, John slid and squeezed his way past rocks. Amy, Jane, Don, and Don's men moved as many rocks out of the way as possible. As they began to do this, they realized how ridiculously easy it was.

"If you ask me, the Doctor fella very easily could've done this without help. I think he just wanted an excuse to get these kids out here." Don mused. Amy wholeheartedly agreed, and said nothing. Sometimes, she really just could not understand the Doctor. She was slightly angry at him too. Had he really been willing to bring them to a planet pumping with poisonous purple gas?

In really no time at all, they were able to clear away a lot of the rocks, and John helped River up to the others. Amy wasted no time.

"River, he's gone." She said, after they'd all hugged each other. River's face instantly fell.

"What?" it was barely even a question, her tone was so serious and curt.

"I…I don't know, really…" Amy gathered her thoughts for a moment, and then explained the best that she could, John and Jane occasionally throwing in details. When Amy was finally finished explaining, it seemed impossible for River to look any more solemn and grim than she already did.

"I know where they've taken him." River said solemnly, glancing meaningfully at Amy. "And we already may be too late."

**Also To Be Continued **


	15. Rescued

**Part three**

**Okay, I obviously had to upload an ending to the 'to be continued' thing, but the actual and **_**better**_** ending was somehow not saved on my computer, so this one will have to do. Sorry :(**

The ride in the TARDIS was very tense. River had directed Amy to a bedroom in which Amy had made John and Jane sleep, after feeding them and rechecking to be sure they were unharmed.

Then, River and Amy had both fallen silent as River piloted the TARDIS to a place she referred to simply as Base 83. River had explained the whole organization, and Amy finally understood River's somber attitude.

Essentially, there was an organization generally referred to as the Eradicators. They were like the hit-men of space, capturing and killing individuals or whole peoples that had somehow wronged someone who was willing to pay for them to be killed.

Considering that the Doctor defeated bad aliens and evil beings nearly every day, the list of vengeful culprits was far, far too long. And according to River, they never made the kills clean or fast. The almost always made it into a show.

There was nothing lawful or justified about this. This was pure jealousy and hatred personified into real, present danger. And the Doctor's life was on the line.

"Fortunately, there is a way to resolve this." River was quickly explaining her plan to Amy, as they were merely minutes from their destination, which apparently was some sort of arena set up on a drifting space rock.

"Usually, you can bribe the Executioner, and he'll let person go." River said. Amy frowned.

"You have the money to do that?" She asked.

"Or you can kill the executioner. You know, either way. Today we're going with option two. I suggest leaving John and Jane in the TARDIS." River said, slipping an extra gun in her belt. "Amy…you may want to stay here also. I'm not so sure it'd be best-"

"I'm coming with you." Amy protested, crossing her arms. River smiled slightly and took a deep breath. "Here we go."

…

The Doctor never thought, of all the things he'd faced, that this was how he'd die, at the hands of spiteful cowards who made killing a slow, cruel sport. They knew who he was, so they'd no doubt draw out his multiple killings, drugging and torturing him in the mean time. It was seemed almost ridiculous to him, that such a thing would happen.

He felt so…heavy. He knew he'd been drugged, because everything he heard sounded far away and really deep and everything was really blurry and bright. He couldn't move because he was strapped down, and all his thoughts were fuzzy. But in a way, he was glad for the drugs. They dulled the pain.

They'd taken their time with him. First, they took away his sonic and his bowtie, which was cruel. What kind of monster takes away a man's bowtie? But then they'd immobilized him and beaten him. They'd given him no chance to fight back.

It was so odd; everything he'd done, all the things he'd faced, and he rarely ever got beaten up. It seemed, in comparison to other things, such a small, insignificant, cowardly thing to do. But they'd done it anyway, and it wasn't like the Doctor had enjoyed it.

The saddest thing to him, though, was that he wouldn't get to see River again. She was perhaps still trapped in the rocks, and Amy and the poor kids were probably lost, or worse, hurt, and it was all his fault. He was alone, hurt, and worried, and for once the Doctor could empathize, if only slightly. Is this what it took? Pain, loss, and loneliness? Were those the ingredients for a heartless killer?

But that was certainly no excuse. The Doctor sure wasn't a psychotic killer, even after all that'd happened to him.

The Doctor frowned pensively as he heard doors opening, the doors to the room they kept him in. Someone, most likely the executioner, walked up beside him.

Though the heavy blanket of distortion plaguing his ears, he was able to comprehend something along the lines of 'Been a disturbance. Change in plans. Kill you now.'

…

River burst in the room and felt blood trickling down her temple, but she didn't mind. Sure, she had to fight to get here, but the fact was- she made it.

In retrospect, it hadn't been hard. Rarely anyone was out and about; they were all in the arena. Amy had gone to find the Doctor's sonic after overhearing some guards talking about wanting to go check it out, and River had snuck along to the holding chamber, where they would be keeping the Doctor before they killed him.

A few guards got in her way, but they were painfully simple to dispose of. After all, she was programmed to kill- it didn't really matter who.

Then, she was there. The holding chamber. She paused out in the corridor, catching her breath. What would she find in there? Would she have been too late? She didn't want to make that a more likely option, so she tightened her hand on the gun she held and burst in. Just in time, too.

The Executioner, a fat, bald, ugly little alien man, hovered over the Doctor with a knife in its hand. It shrieked when River burst in.

"Of all the things to use, you choose a knife? How silly. Drop it," River ordered, aiming her gun straight at him.

"Get out of here! Who are you? This is my prisoner!" The man screeched, flapping his arms madly. River smiled sweetly.

"Yeah? Well he's my husband." She punctuated her statement with three shots, hitting him with every last one.

"Ri…ver?" The Doctor slurred, his tone disoriented and drugged.

"Yes, my love, I'm here." River said, hurrying over. Having no patience to properly undo the restraints, she sawed through them when the Executioner's knife. "Oh…sweetie." River muttered, helping him into a sitting position. He'd certainly been someone's punching bag.

His clothes were disheveled, torn and bloody, and he had multiple cuts and scrapes. His face was already very bruised, his lip was busted, and blood dribbled from an apparently broken nose. Lightly, River stroked his injured face.

"River." The Doctor said again, sounding more himself this time. He smiled slightly, as if in a dream, and then placed his hands on her face, dipping his head and pulling her close, kissing her. River willingly kissed him back, carefully twining her arms around his neck. She felt him smiling against her lips and he pulled back, grinning widely.

"Hey," he said. River rolled her eyes but smiled back.

"Hey." She replied.

"Thanks for saving me." He muttered. River smiled and gently helped him to his feet.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself. You know the only reason I saved you was so I could kill you myself, for leaving me under all those rocks." The Doctor laughed and tapped her nose, and then kissed her once again.

…

The Doctor shifted uneasily from foot to foot, nervously tugging on his bowtie. He peered into the room whose doorway he stood in, deep inside the TARDIS. Inside Amy was out cold, slumbering on a big bed, both her children curled up beside her.

"Why are you so fidgety?" River whispered, appearing behind him.

"Fidgety? I don't know what you're talking about. I never fidget." The Doctor said defiantly. River rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say. I think it's time you take them home, don't you?" River suggested. The Doctor nodded.

"I'm sure she won't be _that_ mad." River tried to reassure him, trailing after him as he made his way to the console. The Doctor shot her and icy glare.

"No. Course not. I only imprisoned their daughter in a mountain or rocks, effectively poisoned her two other children, stranded them in the middle of nowhere, and got myself beat up. What reason would she possible be mad for?" The Doctor grumbled, grumpily flicking switches and pulling levers on the console.

"Well. I'm perfectly alright, save for a slightly sprained ankle that obviously doesn't even affect me, you're…mostly alright, and John and Jane had quite the adventure. I wouldn't say it was too much of a disappointment." River reasoned. The Doctor grunted begrudgingly.

…

The Doctor hesitated outside the Ponds' front door, after being excessively hugged by John and Jane who then thundered upstairs to continue their little nap. River hung back in the TARDIS, and Amy faced him from inside the house, a hint of a smile on her face.

"I'm very angry, you know." She informed him, though she said it with a smile. The Doctor grinned and shrugged, adjusting his bowtie.

"I kinda have that effect on people." He said proudly.

"Thank you, Doctor. For visiting. Even if we did all almost die." Amy said seriously.

"Well River didn't. Almost die, that is. She was just trapped." The Doctor said, as he hugged Amy goodbye.

He started slowly walking away until he snapped her fingers and whirled around.

"What might the time be, Amy?" he called. Amy glanced at her watch and smiled.

"And for once- the Doctor is actually on time." Amy chuckled. The Doctor clapped in victory, sauntering towards the TARDIS.

"Actually, Doctor, I was wrong. This is bad; this is very, very bad. You were late." Amy muttered, her voice dipping to a disbelieving, alarmed, astonished tone.

"What?! By how long?" The Doctor hollered, bewildered.

Amy snickered. "By one minute."

Wanting to be upset but finding himself unable to, the Doctor stomped back to the TARDIS, where his loving wife awaited him.


	16. Texting- TD

**A/N: I'm going to try to make all these shorter…**

**Anyways, here's one loosely inspired by 'Sherlock'. Enjoy :)**

Amy glanced exasperatedly at her phone buzzing on the kitchen table. Glaring at it, she sipped her lemonade and considered throwing it out the window. "Mummy, are you not going to answer?" Jane questioned, finishing off a sugar cookie and hopping off the countertop she sat upon, kicking her legs back and forth. Amy said nothing, just glared at the phone. "Shall I answer it, Mummy?" Jane asked again, approaching the phone uncertainly.

"Most definitely not." Amy muttered, her angry scowl still holding the phone in its beam. Jane frowned, raised a questioning eyebrow, and ran from the kitchen.

Moments later, she returned with her older brother in tone. "I think mummy's afraid of the cell phone." Jane hissed through clenched teeth, dragging John by the sleeve.

John, apprehensive and slightly amused, approached his mother. "Mother…are you sure you don't want to answer the phone? It might be important…" John asked. Amy sighed heavily and stood.

"Hey, if you guys want to, then go ahead. Just whatever you do…don't reply." Amy walked from the room, still stewing. Shooting a curious glance to Jane, John picked up the phone and scrolled through the recent messages.

_CRISIS! If convenient, drop a line so I can pick you up!_

_-TD_

_(See that's 'The Doctor'. Clever, isn't it?)_

_If not convenient, call anyway._

_-TD_

_Just kidding about those last texts, no crisis! Do not be alarmed, Ponds! Ha! I sure fooled you!_

_-TD_

_Thinking about eating cake…_

_-TD_

_Did :) You know :) that :) you can use :( punctuation ;) to :P make little :) faces? :)_

_It's :( Amazing! :^)_

_-TD_

_Texting sure is great!_

_-TD_

_Knock, knock!_

_-TD_

…_Amy, you do know how a knock-knock joke works, right?_

_-TD_

_No matter, I'll explain. You say 'who's there?' and I say 'Doctor!' and you say 'Doctor who?' and I say 'Ha! That's quite a dangerous question!' See?_

_-TD_

_Amy you're not responding…is your phone not properly functioning? I suppose I'll try to text River…_

_-TD_

Quite a distance away, a phone buzzed in a cold prison cell. Moments later, the phone was thrown against a wall, and smashed to many pieces.

A great distance away from there, another phone buzzed.

_Rory! Amy and River aren't responding…I'm beginning to think they don't know how to text!_

_-TD_


	17. Broken

She supposed it was excusable. After so many decades of being serious- facing death, saving planets, rescuing aliens, somehow showing compassion to the most horrible things…after being so serious for so long, River supposed it was only natural for him to be young at heart, to act like a glorified kindergartener.

But this was getting out of hand.

Hide-and-seek was the Doctor's idea of a fun afternoon today, and River was far from agreeing. River figured it all stemmed from the Doctor wanting to show off his knowledge of the TARDIS and its complexity.

River, of course, wasn't going to let him win however. She knew the TARDIS backwards and forwards, and plus- the Doctor looked cute when he pouted, as he would undoubtedly do when he lost. So River certainly wasn't going to let him show off today.

She just had to find a good enough hiding spot. She had considered leading him in circles for a while, then returning and hiding in the console room, where they'd started the game, but she had the feeling that the Doctor expected this.

So as River passed the 57th bathroom she'd seen so far, she tried to decide what would be the best place to hide. She trailed her fingers along the walls, smiling. Even if it was spent doing some ridiculous child's game, spending time with the Doctor always made her happy.

She frowned. She had come across a hallway she wasn't familiar with. Checking both ways to be sure the Doctor wasn't lying in wait, River turned the corner and walked down the hallway. Unlike most of the TARDIS, this hallway wasn't brightly lit with warm golden light. It was mostly dark and only faintly lit with dim green lights. She was almost certain it was her imagination, but River felt it get slightly cooler as she advanced down the short corridor.

There were only two doors in the hallway, and, feeling slightly spooked, River chose the one on the left. The door opened with barely a push from River, and she bit her lip as she entered.

It was a small, dark room, lit like the sad little hallway. River stood in the doorway, sighing. The room was filled to the ceiling with broken things. Broken furniture, torn papers, shattered glass. River didn't have to wonder what the room could be, for she already knew.

What would it have been like, she wondered. To leave behind your own planet and everything you knew was already a difficult thing. But then later, to wipe them all out? To be the very last of your kind, and to have brought that fate upon yourself…River would've been angry too, as the Doctor must have been.

She would've broken things.

This room was centuries full of the Doctor's pain. It hurt River to stand there, to be reminded of what had done this to him. He was a broken man with a room of many broken things.

When had he stood here, with anger and pain in his hearts? Had he screamed as he took his emotions out on useless objects? Or had tears simply slid silently down his face?

"Found you," he said quietly from behind her. River spun around to see him standing there, a faint smile on his face.

"Yes," River murmured softly. He slowly reached behind her and closed to door to the room securely.

"A doorway is probably not the best hiding place." The Doctor said quietly.

River stared at him silently for a moment, before shaking her head. She grabbed his head and brought it down to hers, kissing him.

"Hm…I would've found you faster if I knew this was my reward." The Doctor laughed as River released him, tapping her nose. River smiled up at him.

"Doctor- you found me just in time." She declared, grabbing his hand. Then, together, they walked back to the console room.

**A/N: Eh, not my best. I thought it was still pretty good, though. **

**An immense thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, etc. It always brightens my day :) **


	18. Stubborn

River could feel his eyes on her as she walked causally around the console, humming slightly to herself. She ignored it at first as she made adjustments to the controls, ensuring a smooth and swift flight to wherever it was that they were going. But after a while, she just couldn't take it.

"What?" she demanded, whirling around. He sat in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, with an odd little smile on his face. He didn't respond, just lifted his shoulders slightly and then let them fall.

"You were staring at me." she accused, jabbing his chest with a pointed finger. He only smiled wider and shrugged again, tipping his head slightly.

"Ooh, do I have something on my face?" she muttered, a little smile growing on her face. "Perhaps something in my teeth?" Slowly she circled around him, and his eyes followed her. "Something in my hair, maybe?" The Doctor never replied, just turned his head to follow her as she walked.

She stopped when she was behind him, and she leaned in close, her face only centimeters from his.

"What is it then?" She asked quietly with a sultry grin.

"Hmm," he murmured, leaning his head back and staring into her eyes.

"Really, the suspense is _killing_ me." River said.

The Doctor seemed to briefly consider answering, but then he just smiled even wider at her and remained silent.

"That's very annoying, you know." River muttered. "Really very annoying." She sighed, exaggerating utter disappointment.

"Well I guess no one will _ever_ know what the strange old Doctor was thinking..." She said sadly, sighing again and slowly sauntering away.

"Wait, where are you going?" The Doctor demanded, grabbing her hand and pulling her back. River turned and smiled.

"I don't know…a place…" She played with their interlocked hands, looking up at him through her eyelashes expectantly.

He grinned and got to his feet, pulling her closer, tipping her chin up, and leaning in so as to kiss her.

But she pulled away and shook her head. "Oh no, Doctor. I _never_ kiss boys who don't answer my questions." River said sweetly, though her grin was evil. The Doctor narrowed his eyes as she walked away slowly.

"That's very annoying, you know." He muttered, crossing his arms. "Really very annoying."

He chased after her, determined to kiss the woman whose complexity stole his thoughts and whose beauty stole his breath.

He found her leaning against the wall, smiling sweetly.

"Was there something you needed, sweetie?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Yes," the Doctor replied after a short pause. River dropped her act when she noticed the look in his eyes, a certain…ferocity.

"What is it?" River asked again, though more serious, wondering if something was actually amiss.

The Doctor shifted from foot to foot, wringing his hands. Then he reached out and placed his long palm against her face, smiling. River leaned into his hand, the teasing in her eyes gone and replaced with love.

"I think I love you more than anything. More than everything in the universe, in all of time and space. All the love in the world could not amount to mine…for you." The Doctor blurted, smiling sheepishly. River laughed lightly. The Doctor was usually not so sentimental.

"You _think _you love me?" She teased.

"I love you." he said again.

"Oh, are you sure this time then?" River's voice dropped to a whisper as she pulled the Doctor closer.

"Most definitely." He replied. His hands framed her face and he kissed her, and in that moment, a thousand worlds could've ripped apart and neither of them would even notice nor care, really. For in that moment, it was just simple. It was just him and her. River and the Doctor. Together. Just how it would always and forever be.

But perhaps forever wasn't quite as long as either of them expected.

**A/N: So I saw the new episode. I thought it was pretty good, and I think Clara will be an interesting companion. I'm just a little worried River will be forgotten…**

**Anyways…happy Easter. **

…**I really should update this thing more often, shouldn't I?**

**Ah well. An exponentially humungous thank you to all who have reviewed and whatnot. **

**This author's note kinda just keeps going and going…but my sister is in the next room playing that song from Up on the piano and I'm, like, losing my marbles over here. Just thought everyone would like to know that…Alright I'm out. Goodnight. Or good morning. Or whatever :)**


	19. O, She Was Worthy of all Love

"'_Kind solace in a dying hour! Such father is not now my theme'…"_ The Doctor crowed, sweeping his arms wide and making his voice as theatrical as it seemed he possibly could. The Doctor leapt across the console room.

"'_I will not madly deem that power, of Earth may shrive me of the sin, unearthly pride hath revell'd in_.'"

"Doctor, would you quit spouting nonsense?" River snapped, entering the room. The Doctor smiled shamelessly and shook his head.

"Certainly not, my dear. Our little John has _English homework_ to do. And besides, it's not nonsense. It's Tamerlane by Edgar Allan Poe." The Doctor replied.

John, who was sitting upside down in the Doctor's chair, smiled and waved at River. Today he was fourteen, though the last time they'd seen him, a week ago, he was eleven. Whenever they visited the Ponds the Doctor jumped around at what age the kids would be, never liking to do anything in order. So today John was especially tall and thin, his blonde hair a little longer. He wore a Beatles t-shirt and dark jeans, with his feet bare and his toes wiggling in the air.

"English homework is _so_ boring." Jane, now ten, sighed. She was lying on the floor near the doors, tossing a tennis ball in the air and then catching it.

"Right, that." John muttered. "However, the Doctor acting it out _does_ help. A bit."

"See, River? I'm _helping_." The Doctor said proudly, swirling around and appraising the little poetry book in his hand.

"Why Poe, hm? He an old friend of yours?" River asked, smirking. The Doctor looked hurt.

"As a matter of fact he _is_. What of it?" The Doctor snapped. "Wait, wait, listen to this. _'I have not always been as now: the fever'd diadem on my brow, I claim'd and won usurpingly- hath not the same fierce heirdom given, Rome to Caesar- this to me?_'" The Doctor was awarded with blank looks all around.

"Rubbish, if you ask me." River said, holding back a smile, knowing what would come next.

"Rubbish?! How could you, River, _really-_ here I was, thinking you actually had some _sense_, when in reality…rubbish! I am appalled, River, shocked and appalled." The Doctor burst.

"Hey now, you didn't really choose the best part," John protested, righting himself and plucking the poetry book from the Doctor's hands. He returned to the chair, his eyes scanning the page.

"See here- '_I have no words- alas! - to tell, the loveliness of loving well! Nor would I now attempt to trace, the more than beauty of a face'_. See? Isn't that lovely?" John said with a grin.

"Toss it here, John, let me find one." Jane called. John threw her the book and she caught in gracefully, running her finger along the words. "Oh, that's cute: '_And she would mark the opening skies… I saw no Heaven- but in her eyes.'_ Or what about…_ 'I reach'd my home, my home no more- for all had flown who made it so._'" Jane raised her eyebrows as if she were challenging River to insult _that_. But River just smiled and shook her head.

"Fine. That's kind of sweet. Let me see." River accepted the poetry book from Jane and regarded it thoughtfully, taking a while to read the poem. "Perhaps it isn't rubbish." she amended finally \.

"Good work, gang." The Doctor said jubilantly. John and Jane chuckled.

A few short hours later, after John and Jane had reluctantly left the TARDIS and returned to their home, River was in the dim console room, gazing at the poetry book lying discarded on the Doctor's chair. Tamerlane had actually been a pretty good poem; sort of sad, but sweet all the same.

"'_O, she was worthy of all love_…'" River heard the Doctor say from behind her. She turned to see him standing there, smiling at her. His eyes sparkled and she wrapped her arms around him. "_Love, as in infancy, was mine. T'was such as angel minds above might envy; her young heart the shrine, on which my every hope and thought, were incense, then a goodly gift."_ he recited, saying the words as if he meant them, and River couldn't help but believe he did.

"River?" he said gently.

"Yes?"

He smiled wider and cupped her face in his hand, leaning down closer. She closed her eyes as she felt him getting nearer. She could tell his lips were mere millimeters from hers.

"So did you like the poem?" he asked abruptly. Her eyes snapped open and she glowered at him. He grinned evilly.

She slapped his arm and then threw up her arms in exasperation.

"Yes, I liked the bloody poem!" she cried, stalking away. The Doctor grinned at her in triumph.

**I hope I'm allowed to quote poetry, because I really like the poem and I figured I would write this. As mentioned, it is Tamerlane by Edgar Allan Poe, and it does not belong to me. **

**I just want school to be over with already so I can stay home inside and write…woe is I. **

_**Anyways**_**, please do review if you fancy doing so, because reviews are cool and it always brightens my day. Thanks bunches to those who have already reviewed, yall are made of awesome. Even the people who don't review are made of awesome. We are all walking machines of awesome. **

**Okay bye :)**


	20. Always

It was a rare moment of peace, of uninterrupted, perfect happiness.

The Doctor and River lay side by side on the face of a grassy hill, staring up at the stars. They were nowhere special, just in the midst of some gently rolling hills somewhere in Scotland, where no city lights distracted from the twinkling of the stars.

River was curled against the Doctor, his arm around her shoulders, and they breathed in synch with each other. River's eyes were closed, a faint little smile dancing across her lips. The Doctor kept his eyes wide open, keeping them trained directly on her, studying her. The curve of her lips, the flawlessness of her skin…the Doctor took it all in, committing it to memory as he had done countless times before- but he would never get tired of doing so, never get tired of her. He wanted her around…always.

"What would I do without you?" River asked suddenly, somehow managing to snuggle closer to the Doctor than she already was.

"Well…" the Doctor began with a grin. "You'd probably be in prison."

River's eyes were still closed, but the Doctor could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

The Doctor gently stroked her curls, gazing at her with nothing but love.

"River?" The Doctor whispered, placing his fingers gently under her chin. Her eyes fluttered open and she grinned at him.

"Hm?" she replied.

"I will _never_ let you go." The Doctor whispered. "Never. I'm going to keep you right here." He hugged her tightly, and then pressed his lips to her forehead.

There, in his arms, was just where River wanted to be. Always.

**Short but sweet, right? **

**Happy Sunday everyone. Hope you liked this one :)**

**-Blue**


	21. Sometimes

**If you haven't seen the finale, I guess you probably shouldn't read this. There are not really any spoilers, per se, but I mean, what are you doing not watching the finale?! Goodness gracious. **

**I am positively bursting with River/11 feels. **_**That finale, man.**_** I just can't. I can't even. I am currently **_**unable to even**_**. I mean, that kiss. That romantic dialogue. And I just. **

**Excuse me while I sob with happiness and depression.**

**So I guess this little one-shot is sometime after River is gone, I dunno really. **

…

Sometimes, he would wake up and could feel her there, right where she was supposed to be, sleeping soundly in his arms. He could feel her calming heartbeat, her rhythmic breathing. Her curls would tickle his skin and he would breathe her in, everything about her- perfection. He would inhale the curve of her lips, the gentleness to her eyelids, and the softness of her skin. Right then, she was not the daring, flirty, crazy girl who shot things and stared down enemies and ran with him through time and space. She was just River, who tore the universe apart for him, who had saved his life time after time, who he had lost in so many ways, who was soft and gentle and kind, and who he terribly, fiercely, _desperately_ wanted to protect. She was his River, his wife, his solace.

Sometimes, he would be able to keep this illusion, hold it close within his hearts for a few precious moments before reality came like a bitter pill, crashing down on him in waves, and he had to realize that he was alone, cold in his bed, with the epitome of perfection absent from his arms. He had lost his River yet again, but this time it was absolute and final. Never again would he awake to her face centimeters from his, the feeling of her skin against his fingertips, the taste of her lips on his.

Sometimes, he could waste away the day just laying there, dreaming of her face, her voice. He could close his eyes- and sometimes, _some few, lovely, heartbreaking times_, he could feel her hand resting in his, offering him peace and strength, support and understanding, and above all _love_- but then in would fade. His hand was empty, as his hearts now felt, and she would be gone. And he would be so, so alone.

_**Please review if you feel so inclined and I shall mentally send you a hug. Unless that freaks you out. Then I'll settle for a handshake. Or if you prefer, it could just be a sort of respectful head nod. Or we could plan out, like, a whole secret handshake thing that no one else will ever know about.**_

_**Your choice. **_


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